Clearstead Trust LLC Decreases Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Clearstead Trust LLC decreased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 9.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,492 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing accounts for 1.4% of Clearstead Trust LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 5,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,360,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 5,581 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Patron Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.6% during the first quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 2,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock opened at $278.60 on Tuesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $205.53 and a 52 week high of $279.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $261.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.50%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $872,254.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 41,696 shares in the company, valued at $11,440,548.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $872,254.02. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 41,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,440,548.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $265.36.

About Automatic Data Processing

Automatic Data Processing, Inc provides cloud-based human capital management solutions worldwide. It operates in two segments, Employer Services and Professional Employer Organization (PEO). The Employer Services segment offers strategic, cloud-based platforms, and human resources (HR) outsourcing solutions.